Bank of NSW

The Quality Inn Heritage on Lydiard building was formally known as the Citation Bank of New South Wales, 13-15 Lydiard Street, Ballarat, was designed by architect Leonard Terry and built in 1862.

The two storied structure is stuccoed with a bluestone plinth. The ground floor facade features smooth rustication to arch springing level with a smooth surface above, decorated with voussoirs and quoins. The smooth surfaced upper storey is decorated with segmental window hoods, string courses and quoins and a balustraded parapet.

Bank of New South Wales, 13-15 Lydiard Street, Ballarat, forms part of a most distinctive and probably unique streetscape of banks, all by the same architect Leonard Terry and all in the conservative classical style. The New South Wales bank is architecturally representative of its period and typical of Terry's works of the time.

Ballarat's Heritage

Ballarat is Victoria's largest inland city. It started back in 1838 when a squatter called William Yuille camped on the shores of the Black Swamp, now known as Lake Wendouree. The name "Balla" "Arat" was derived from the aboriginal words meaning resting or camping place.

Gold was discovered at Poverty Point in 1851 by John Dunlop and James Regan while panning in the Canadian Creek. By the following year there were around 20,000 diggers searching in the shafts of the Ballarat Goldfields. Due to this population explosion, Ballarat was proclaimed a town in 1852. By 1855, Ballarat was a municipality, a borough by 1863 and a city in 1870.

During the Gold Rush boom in Ballarat, many important events took place the focus being the Eureka Stockade, which saw the only Australian civil uprising take place right here in Ballarat.

After the Last mine was closed in 1918 Ballarat had grown substantially and could now support itself with industry and services and has continued to grow into the largest inland city in Victoria. Now a tourist and industry hub with leafy boulevards, heritage buildings, and world-class attractions.

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Ballarat Eureka

Ballarat is the home of Australia's only civil uprising, the Eureka Rebellion. The events of 1854 culminating in the storming of the Stockade on December 3 by government troops have left a legacy for all Australians, with the stockade being referred to as the birth of the Australian Spirit.

Come to Ballarat and spend some time investigating the Eureka Story and form your own opinions on this crucial part of the development of our democratic nation.

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